Parliamentary Secretary

Malta and Hong Kong conducted a series of preliminary meetings to discuss bilateral agreements on avoidance of double taxation with a view to preparing for a special discussion, scheduled for March this year. This agreement will be a first for Hong Kong's double taxation avoidance agreement entered into with the State in Southern Europe. Meetings in Hong Kong on his discussions is Parliamentary Secretary to Malta on Taxes and Real Estate, Jason Azzopardi. Malta expects to benefit from entering into agreements with Hong Kong for the avoidance of double taxation, not only because Hong Kong is a major developing financial investment center in Asia, but also for the reason that Malta can become a sort of intermediate point through which Hong Kong will interact with its neighbors in southern Europe and northern Africa. Prior to June 2001 in Hong Kong has not been concluded agreements on avoidance of double taxation. Currently, however, the Hong Kong government finds a growing number of agreements on various types of taxes already independent from China. In this case, Hong Kong can not take advantage of the double taxation avoidance agreement entered into by China, because such agreements only apply to taxes, operating in mainland China. Malta signed over 50 agreements on avoidance of double taxation, including agreements with the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Italy. All these agreements are built in accordance with Model convention on avoidance of double taxation, approved by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Information on the conditions of the proposed Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation with Hong Kong is still lacking.